Passion

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Passion transforms ordinary into legendary

- Murali

Perspectives Matter

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In my opinion, "Invention" is a redundant word

The truth/fact is always out there 

So, there is no "Invention", there is only Discovery

Discovery comes from a fresh interpretation of the truth

Truth/fact never changes or vanishes

Yet it is not enough to know that it is some where out there !

Perspectives are important to make progress

They make pursuit of life, understanding of the world very interesting & useful

Perspectives Matter !

- thought bubbled in a random train of thought 
by Muralidhar Patnam :)

Love Story

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Well, Almost a month since i wrote a post

I was lazy. (I wish i could say i was too busy)
So, here is a post to break the gap

I recently read the book "Love Story" by Erich Segal

I read it because some one suggested that it would improve my vocabulary

No doubt. I learned more than 150 new words in this 132 page book

Learning >1 new word per page is cool !

Besides all the theory on vocabulary benefit, 

It is an enjoyable book. Immediately after i finished the book, I went on to watch the movie "Love Story" released in 1970 to kind of re-live the story. It is one of those rare cases where both the book and the movie are on par !

The book doesn't stretch any description. Crisp !

The movie doesn't miss much detail & impact

I feel i should have read the book much earlier. 
Pick it up if you haven't read it already 

Only Rs 99/- on Flipkart
Worth every buck !

5 Rules - Better Presentations

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OWNERSHIP

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If you don't feel comfortable owning something for 10 years, then don't own it for 10 minutes


WARREN BUFFET

Enjoying Education

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I believe that education is all about being excited about something

Seeing passion and enthusiasm helps push an educational message

STEVE IRWIN

Outstanding Presentations Workshop

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There is a free webinar workshop on outstanding presentations happening! Totally 8 sessions. I attended the first session yesterday and it is quite good. If you are interested, you can go to
http://www.outstandingpresentationsworkshop.com/ and register yourself for the remaining 7 sessions

You can also access the recording of yesterday's session once you register.
Why wait? All the best for your presentations !

There is only one problem. The sessions will happen at 1:30 AM every wednesday :)
Shouldn't be a problem if you are a nocturnal creature like me. Cheers !

Made In China

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One of the best self introduction speeches i have heard !

Truth

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"If you tell the truth, you don't have to remember anything"
Mark Twain

Imagining Leadership

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Amazing video on leadership conceptualized by Nitin Nohria, Dean, Harvard Business School

Azim Premji in Elevator

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It was 9:30 PM and time to go home! I was casually humming a tune and waiting for the lazy office lift to come down to 3rd floor. On a typical day, i would see one or two exhausted and half asleep GE employees once the doors opened. But, i was surprised once the elevator doors opened today

I saw a confident old man in grey suit. His white hair was dancing to the air blowing from above
He looked at me through his big spectacles. I took a second to recognize him. I couldn't believe my eyes.   Azim Premji was standing before me, one step away

I walked into the lift, trying to put up a professional smile and stood behind him. I was looking at him top to bottom just when i realized his security guard was staring at me with suspicion. For a moment, i thought to move next to him, introduce myself and give him a shake hand. But the lift hit ground floor pretty fast. I couldn't get my elevator pitch (elevator introduction rather!) ready by then

Azim premji started to leave and looked back for some reason. I smiled back. The lift doors closed and i closed my eyes. The next moment the lift was making some noise. I opened my eyes and was in the basement parking area

Exciting ending to a regular day at office

Optimizing Resource Usage

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Read the following Buddha & his disciple's story on resource usage !


Buddha, one day, was in deep thought about worldly activities and the ways of instilling goodness in human beings.

One of his disciples approached him and said humbly "Oh my teacher ! While you are so much concerned about the world and others, why don't you look in to the welfare and needs of your own disciples also."
Buddha: "OK.. Tell me how I can help you"
Disciple: "Master! My attire is worn out and is beyond the decency to wear the same. Can I get a new one, please?"

Buddha found the robe indeed was in a bad condition and needed replacement. He asked the store keeper to give the disciple  a new robe to wear on. The disciple thanked Buddha and retired to his room

A while later, Buddha went to his disciple's place and asked him "Is your new attire comfortable? Do  you need anything more?"
Disciple: "Thank you my Master. The attire is indeed very comfortable. I need nothing more"
Buddha: "Having got the new one, what did you do with your old attire?"
Disciple: "I am using it as my bed spread"
Buddha: "Then.. hope you have disposed off your old bed spread"
Disciple: " No.. no.. master. I am using my old bedspread as my window curtain"
Buddha: " What about your old Curtain?"
Disciple: "Being used to handle hot utensils in the kitchen"
Buddha: "Oh.. I see.. Can you tell me what did they do with the old cloth they used in Kitchen"
Disciple: "They are being used to wash the floor."
Buddha:" Then, the old rug being used to wash the floor...?"
Disciple: "Master, since they were torn off so much, we could not find any better use, but to use as a twig in the oil lamp, which is right now lit in your study room...."
Buddha smiled in contentment and left for his room

If not to this degree of utilization, can we at least make the best use of all our resources at home and in office? 
We need to handle wisely all the resources earth has bestowed us with — both natural and material, so that they can be saved for the generations to come!

Acknowledgement

Ananthu

Navadarshanam

Indescribable

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My heart skips a beat when i think about you

It is not enough to say "I love you"

It's so much more

It's so much better

It's a feeling indescribable

Oh my dear, Look into my eyes,

Can you feel it?

Desktop Lyrics

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I just love this app - Desktop Lyrics
It enhances the experience of music on itunes to the next level
It neatly displays the lyrics of itunes current song on the desktop
Suddenly, i have taken an interest in listening to more english songs
The best part is that the applicaton is free !

Vinayaka Chavithi

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Vinayaka Chavithi Subhakankshalu (Happy Ganesh Chaturdhi to all)

Since childhood, every year on this day, dad and mom decorated an inverted table, with lot of fruits and leaves. My father would read the mantras himself, (better than any regular priest) and narrate the stories of Lord Ganesha. I used to sit there praying for 1st rank in the class (It was the ultimate objective of life then). This continued all through the school years. The prayers lasted for a good 2 hours. After my father passed away, for the past 7 years, the prayers were spearheaded by mom and were short. I go through that nostalgia for father's prayers every year

Our Ganesha, This year !

This year's prayer procedures were a different. After my mom pulled out the age old mantra book and story book from the cup board, my sister who celebrated her last year's festival in UK had an idea

Do you want to know what the biggest change was? 

The recorded priest from Raaga sang out the mantras and stories out loud

The recording was very much customized for the occassion, where the priest stopped at regular intervals to guide what to do next

I wonder if it is time for virtual priests in some of our regular celebrations

Darkness/Light-Hate/Love

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"Darkness cannot drive out darkness; 
  only light can do that
  Hate cannot drive out hate; 
  only love can do that"
- Martin Luther King Jr. 


If only everyone understood this concept and saw the diversity in India as an asset and not a reason for conflict, this country would be so different (in a good way!)
You know what? It is just a matter of having the right attitude 

iPod Touch

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Apple released new generation of iPods on September 1st
I personally love what the new iPod touch has to offer. All the exciting features of an iphone (except the phone) and approximately at half the size and the price

I can't wait to get my hands onto one of them. It's time to visit an apple dealer store !

If only i had the budget to buy one, i wouldn't wait a second to bring it home

Productivity Apps

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With the every increasing demands for productivity, the use of task management applications is on the rise. I personally don't like the task management features that Microsoft Outlook offers. So, i fall into the category of people who look out for third party applications for task management/productivity

In this post, i will talk about a few apps that can serve your need

Things
The best productivity application available as on today is called Things
It is available only for Mac users

But, the application is extremely expensive. 50$ for a task management application?
You gotta be a business executive or MBA student to find value for that investment

TeuxDeux
TeuxDeux is a free online task management tool

It is very simple and easy to use. But, i doesn't have the sophistication that Things offers

TeuxDeux is ideal for people who want to keep their to-do lists simple, don't require sophistication and carry their lists with them ! They have an app for the iphone also

Producteev

Producteev is free like TeuxDeux and offers great sophistication and flexibility like Things

I have been using this from the past one week and i love it. Just create your free account and you will be amazed by the features it offers

Steve Jobs on Branding

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Hear Steve Jobs from one of those early years in Apple.
He talks about the idea behind launch of the branding campaign "Think Different"

Suggestion - Put your headphones on. The audio quality isn't great



This guy is one of my role models and never fails to inspire me !

TiE Session on K-12 Segment - Quotes !

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I recently attended a TiE Session "Unravelling the K-12 Segment - Opportunities and Challenges"
It was a very interesting sessions and broke some myths i had around the education sector
I will be drafting a detailed post soon, with a summary of the entire session

For now, i have listed an thought provoking & entertaining quotes from each of the three panelists

"Lets not start test preparation in the womb. It will not get them into IITs and IIMs"
- Ashish Rajpal, Founder, idiscoveri


"The middle class parent in India is paranoid and has stopped thinking"


"If you pick up a real problem and find atleast 30% solution to it, you will be more successful than people who are chasing a part of the billion dollar market. You will go beyond your wildest dreams of a successful entrepreneur"
Sridharan Rajagopalan, Founder, Eklavya Institute

"We entrepreneurs have a disease - an incredible and crazy optimism. Add to that a layer of hype. The hype begins when the industry potential appears in economic times as a billion dollar market"


"I am still such a sambar eating desi, dollar (USD) doesn't make any sense to me"
Satyanarayanan, Chairman, Career Launcher India

Look forward to a detailed post on the session !

Objectivism

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When was the last time you witnessed some one who had great clarity of thoughts?
Watch a gut wrenching video interview of Ayn Rand that was shot in the 1950s

Feeling Inferior?

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"No one can make you feel inferior without your consent"

Eleanor Roosevelt

Compare book prices in India

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There is a search engine to search books and compare their prices from different online book stores
It is called the India Book Store 

This might be of interest to people who would like to get the best price for their books and want to spend time in decision making

For me, I would directly go to flipkart and order books
They offer good discounts and their service is awesome !
I am undoubtedly a flipkart fan
They blew me away right at the first order !

Save Water

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Life's Moments

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An awesome video on life's moments


Moments from Everynone on Vimeo.

I found this video on One thing to see . Check it out for other interesting videos

Invisible Mouse

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Watch Pranav Mistry demonstrate an invisible mouse

Geek's Love

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Why geeks gail in love ! 

True Vs Perceived Limitations

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"I had to understand what were my true limitations Vs my perceived limitations. Once i understood my true limitations, the next challenge was what choices i could create"

- Sheena Iyengar 
Professor, Columbia Business School
& Author of "The Art of Choosing"

said this in an interview with Times of India
Download the complete interview from here

You can watch another interesting interview of her at bigthink.com



Did you know she is blind? Despite that limitation, look at her accomplishments. Absolutely Inspiring !
If you have 18 more minutes, enjoy this interesting & cheerful talk at TED. It brings new perspectives on life



Her book "The Art of choosing" is on my wish list. Will read it soon

Famous Failures

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Lucille Ball
Dismissed from drama school with a note that read "Wasting your time", she is too shy to put her best foot forward

• One of the most popular and influential stars in America during her lifetime
• One of Hollywood's longest careers

The Beatles
Turned down by the Decca recording company who said "We don't like their sound and their guitar music is on the way out"

• One of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music
• The group came to be perceived as the embodiment of progressive ideals, seeing their influence extend into the social and cultural revolutions of the 1960s.

Ulysses S. Grant 
A failed soldier, farmer and a real estate agent, at 38 years old went to work for his father as a handy man

• 18th President of United States
• military commander during the Civil War and post-war Reconstruction periods. Under Grant's command, the Union Army defeated the Confederate military and ended the Confederate States of America

Michael Jordan
Cut from the high school basket ball team, he went home locked himself in his room and cried

• By acclamation, Michael Jordan is the greatest basketball player of all time

Thomas Alva Edison
A teacher told him he was too stupid to learn anything and he should go into a field where he might succeed by the virtue of his pleasant personality

• American inventor, scientist, and businessman who developed many devices that greatly influenced life around the world, including the phonograph, the motion picture camera, and a long-lasting, practical electric light bulb
• Edison is considered one of the most prolific inventors in history, holding 1,093 U.S. patents in his name, as well as many patents in the United Kingdom, France, and Germany
• Founded the company Edison Electric which is now General Electric (GE)

Walt Disney
Fired from a newspaper because he lacked Imagination and had no original ideas

• American film producer, director, screenwriter, voice actor, animator, entrepreneur,entertainer, international icon and philanthropist
• He and his staff created a number of the world's most famous fictional characters including Mickey Mouse
• He has won 26Academy Awards out of 59 nominations (highest by any individual)

Abraham Lincoln
His fiance died, he failed in business twice, he had a nervous breakdown and he was defeated in 8 elections

• 16th President of the United States
• He successfully led his country through its greatest internal crisis, the American Civil War, preserving the Union and ending slavery

If you have never failed, you have never lived !

Song a Day

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There is this guy, Jonathan Mann who
1. Writes a new song
2. Composes it
3. Sings it
4. Shoots it
5. Edits the Video
6. Uploads it to Youtube
Every single day !

Inspiring, isn't it?
If you think otherwise, You will be definitely inspired after you watch this video



I came to know about him after this video was shown at the start of Apple's recent press meet
I love the following lines in the song

" Hey! I've got an idea. Let's all sing this song
   Those of you who don't want an iphone 4, don't buy it
   If you bought one and don't like it, bring it back
   But you know, you won't ! "

After learning about this guy, I have got an idea ! 
How about writing a post on the blog everyday? Atleast every week?
The latter one should be easy. Let me start there :)

P.S - I am an Apple fan boy !

Long Gap !

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There has been a long gap in blogging

The following things have kept me busy

1. Co-founded and built a non-profit organization Jwalamukhi

2. Moved to a new & challenging role at work which demanded more time and attention

3. Spent more time with family and less time with computer

Best days for the blog lie ahead. Look forward to my further posts !

Lincoln's Letter to his son's Teacher

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He will have to learn, I know,
that all men are not just,

all men are not true.

But teach him also that

for every scoundrel there is a hero;

that for every selfish Politician,

there is a dedicated leader…

Teach him for every enemy there is a friend,

Steer him away from envy,
if you can,

teach him the secret of

quiet laughter.

Let him learn early that
the bullies are the easiest to lick…

Teach him, if you can,

the wonder of books…

But also give him quiet time

to ponder the eternal mystery of birds in the sky,

bees in the sun,

and the flowers on a green hillside.

In the school teach him
it is far honourable to fail

than to cheat…

Teach him to have faith

in his own ideas,

even if everyone tells him

they are wrong…

Teach him to be gentle

with gentle people,

and tough with the tough.

Try to give my son
the strength not to follow the crowd

when everyone is getting on the band wagon…

Teach him to listen to all men…

but teach him also to filter

all he hears on a screen of truth,

and take only the good

that comes through.

Teach him if you can,
how to laugh when he is sad…

Teach him there is no shame in tears,

Teach him to scoff at cynics

and to beware of too much sweetness…

Teach him to sell his brawn

and brain to the highest bidders

but never to put a price-tag

on his heart and soul.

Teach him to close his ears
to a howling mob

and to stand and fight

if he thinks he’s right.

Treat him gently,

but do not cuddle him,

because only the test

of fire makes fine steel.

Let him have the courage
to be impatient…

let him have the patience to be brave.

Teach him always

to have sublime faith in himself,

because then he will have

sublime faith in mankind.

This is a big order,
but see what you can do…

He is such a fine little fellow,

my son!

If You Can

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It has been a long time since i posted on the blog. I have been extremely busy, building a non-profit start-up.

Today morning, i read this famous poem by Rudyard Kipling and felt like sharing it on the blog.

Read it many a times? But, still read on. Because it is worth it !

If you can keep your head when all about you Are losing theirs and blaming it on you; If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you, But make allowance for their doubting too; If you can wait and not be tired by waiting, Or, being lied about, don't deal in lies, Or, being hated, don't give way to hating, And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise; If you can dream - and not make dreams your master; If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim; If you can meet with triumph and disaster And treat those two imposters just the same; If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools, Or watch the things you gave your life to broken, And stoop and build 'em up with wornout tools; If you can make one heap of all your winnings And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss, And lose, and start again at your beginnings And never breath a word about your loss; If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew To serve your turn long after they are gone, And so hold on when there is nothing in you Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on"; If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue, Or walk with kings - nor lose the common touch; If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you; If all men count with you, but none too much; If you can fill the unforgiving minute With sixty seconds' worth of distance run - Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it, And - which is more - you'll be a Man my son!